


What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted

by kitlee625, Sarahastro



Series: Doctors AU [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-17
Updated: 2014-01-17
Packaged: 2018-01-09 01:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1139957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitlee625/pseuds/kitlee625, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarahastro/pseuds/Sarahastro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Coulson has a massive heart attack, Fury and the other doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D. do whatever it takes to keep him alive.</p><p>Takes place one year before <i>Doctors of S.H.I.E.L.D</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the song _What Becomes of the Brokenhearted_ by Jimmy Ruffin.

Later Fury would wonder if it were luck or fate that Coulson’s heart attack happened at the exact time they were supposed to meet. An hour earlier and he would have died before anyone found him, but instead after some CPR and a few shocks from the defibrillator, Coulson was lying in the ICU, weak but alive.

“How is he?”

Stark shook his head. “He had a massive heart attack. He’s in cardiogenic shock. I put in a balloon pump, and that’s keeping him alive for now.”

“Options?”

“His heart’s gone. He needs a transplant. Have you talked to his next of kin?”

“He doesn’t have any.”

“What about that woman he brought to Thanksgiving last year? I think she was a cellist.”

“They broke up. She’s living in Portland now. Clint or Melinda might know. They’ve known him since residency.”

But when he talked to them, they both shook their heads. “Both of his parents are dead, and he doesn’t have any siblings,” May said.

“Cousins? Aunts? Uncles?” Fury asked.

May thought back to their residency. “I don’t remember him ever mentioning an extended family. He spent the holidays with his wife’s family.”

*****

“I heard about Dr. Coulson,” Rogers said as they waited in line in the cafeteria. “How is he?”

“Not good.” Stark scowled. “The guy’s an idiot.” Rogers looked startled. “His cholesterol is ridiculously bad. Has he ever heard of a vegetable?”

“He worked too hard. He was dedicated to his job.”

“If he’d spent a little less time worrying about this place and a little more time taking care of himself, he might not be on life support right now.”

Rogers gestured at their trays, which were laden with hamburgers and French fries. “He probably ate almost all of his meals at the hospital. The food here is terrible.”

Stark thought of the home-cooked meals Pepper had waiting for him every night and felt guilty.

*****

As Stark entered Coulson’s room, he could hear a group of fellows talking.

“It’s ironic, the chairman of cardiology dying from a heart attack,” one said.

“He should have worked harder on his research,” added another. “He had some interesting results on preventing heart attacks ten years ago.”

“Does this count as survival of the fittest?” a third snickers.

“Not exactly, since he’s not dead yet,” Stark said. All of the fellows turned to look at him, mouths open in shock. “You better hope he does die. Otherwise, as soon as he wakes up, he’s going to make your life hell.”

“He’s unconscious,” the first one said. “He can’t hear us.”

Stark smiled grimly. “I hope for your sake that’s true. Now get out.”

*****

“Melinda,” Barton called as he ran down the hall towards her.

She stepped away from the elevator and turned to face him. “What?”

“I need a favor. I told Tony that I would look in on Phil tomorrow, but I have to be in the lab. Can you cover for me?”

“No.”

“It’s easy,” he said. “You just have to stop by a few times during the day. If there’s an emergency, the nurses will page you.” She did not say anything, so he continued, “I’ll cover him at night. You just need to be there during the day.”

“Why are you doing this? This is what residents are for.”

“You really want to leave Phil in the hands of a bunch of residents?” His eyes narrowed. “I haven’t seen you visit him. And you haven’t signed up to watch him.”

She did not answer.

“You two used to be close. Don’t you care about him?”

“Of course I care,” she said, her voice low and trembling, “but you don’t want me on the wards.”

“Phil would want you there. He always trusted you.”

She shook her head. “I can’t.”

*****

“How is Phil?”

Stark turned, startled to hear his wife’s voice. “What are you doing here?”

“We were supposed to meet at your office to go to dinner,” Pepper reminded him. “The kids are at friends’ houses, and we have the night to ourselves.”

“Right, sorry.” He knew that there was no reason for him to watch Coulson, but he felt a little hesitant to leave.

“So how is he?” Pepper asked again.

“He’s stable for now. We just have to wait for a heart to become available.” He looked back at Coulson. “He doesn’t have anyone. I’ve got you and the kids, although I wouldn’t want them to see me like this.”

“You wouldn’t be able to keep me away,” Pepper said.

“Clint said Coulson hasn’t had any family since his divorce.” Stark sighed. “I didn’t even know he’d ever been married.”

“They got married right out of college, but she left him while he was chief resident.”

“Ouch.”

“You know he’s not completely alone,” Pepper observed. “He has all of you.”

“Some family,” he said sarcastically. “Does that make me the asshole cousin?”

She smiled fondly at him. “I was thinking more his asshole brother.”

Even he could not come up with a quick quip in response. He watched the monitors until she put her hand gently on his arm. “I passed by Bruce at the nurse’s desk. He told me he’ll be here tonight. Phil’s in good hands.”

“Yeah, okay.” He forced himself to turn away and let her lead him out of the ICU.

*****

“How is he?” Fury asked.

The grim expressions on Banner and Stark’s faces told him that the news was not good.

“He has a bloodstream infection. We’re having trouble clearing it with just antibiotics. The bugs are probably stuck to the balloon pump, but he won’t survive without it,” Banner said.

“Can you switch it out for a new one right away?”

“I don’t see the point. Changing these things isn’t easy, and we’d be putting it back in his infected blood,” Stark said.

Banner looked guilty as he said, “I hate to say this, but do we really think he’s going to come through this?” Fury glared at him, and Banner held up his hands. “I’m just trying to be pragmatic. Coulson’s been in the ICU for three weeks. His body is shutting down, and I don’t even know what this much sedation is doing to his brain. He’s not going to survive without a transplant, and he’s off the list so long as he’s infected.”

“We are not going to withdraw care,” Fury said. He glared at Banner and Stark as if daring them to challenge him.

Stark though countered, “According to who, Phil or you? You’re not his medical decision-maker just because you’re his boss. Phil doesn’t have anyone to make these decisions for him.”

“I’m not doing this as his boss. I’m doing this as his friend and a doctor.”

“And he told you that? He said that he trusted you enough as a friend to make these kind of decisions for him? Because I don’t know that he’d want to be kept alive on machines if there weren’t any hope left.”

“There’s always hope.”

“That may be true, but we’re all doctors. I’ve seen hundreds of patients this sick before, and I can only think of a couple who survived to walk out of the hospital. What kind of odds are those?” Stark stared at Coulson lying on the hospital bed. “I don’t think he would want to be like this indefinitely.”

Banner tried to change the subject to a slightly less drastic decision. “We don’t have to stop anything, but what about if he codes again?” Banner and Stark looked expectantly at Fury. Both of them thought ordering a DNR was reasonable. The odds of coming back once after a cardiac arrest were very low, but twice…

Fury though shook his head. “Do everything.”

After he left Stark shook his head sadly. “I hope he’s still in there,” he said.

“I don’t.” When Banner saw the surprise on Stark’s face he asked, “Can you imagine what he’s going through?”

Stark did not even want to think about it. It took a lot to keep a patient as ill as Coulson alive in the ICU for just a day, and he had been there for three weeks.

Romanoff came up behind them. “I heard about Coulson’s bloodstream infection.”

“Yeah. Can you clear it?”

She shrugged. “MRSA’s pretty sticky. Hard to get off hardware. But we should double cover him with bactrim and ceftaroline. That might do the trick.”

“Thanks,” Banner said.

“So do you guys really think he’s going to make it?” Romanoff asked.

“If he clears the infection, he can be listed again,” Banner said. He glanced at Stark.

“With his blood type AB, we might get a heart that matches in a few weeks. He might last that long, as long as he doesn’t get another infection or go into cardiac arrest again, and assuming that the balloon pump doesn’t rip open his aorta…”

Romanoff raised her eyebrows. “Cheery. Anybody going to tell Fury that?”

“We tried, but he doesn’t want to hear it,” Banner said.

“Who put Fury in charge of Coulson’s care anyway?” Romanoff asked.

“Fury did.”

*****

Coulson’s heart stopped two days later. Perhaps luck or fate intervened again because it happened while Romanoff, Banner, and Stark were rounding on him. After thirty minutes of resuscitation, they were able to bring him back, but in the process Banner pushed hard enough on his chest to break several of Coulson’s ribs. When they were satisfied that Coulson’s heart would hold onto its weak rhythm - augmented significantly by the machines supporting him - Stark went to the nurses’ desk and called Fury’s office.

“I hope you’re happy.” He slammed down the phone before Fury could respond.

*****

Barton was surprised to see May sitting beside Coulson’s bed when he came to visit.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

She looked pale and shaken. For a moment he wondered if she had been crying, but it must have just been the light. Melinda May did not cry.

“How is he?” he asked.

May stared at Coulson. “He’s gone,” she said. “We need to let him go.”

“He’s not gone,” Barton said, although he had been feeling the same way lately. “He’s just sedated. He has to be so he doesn’t fight against the machines.” 

May touched his hand gently. “He wouldn’t want to be like this.”

*****

“What makes you think he’s brain dead?” Fury asked.

“He went thirty minutes without oxygen to the brain,” Stark said angrily.

“We don’t know for sure that he is,” Banner said. “He hasn’t responded to anything in weeks, but that could be because of the sedatives.”

“We could let the sedation wash out of his system. It would probably take a few days, but then we could see what he can do, get additional EEG studies.”

“And if he’s brain dead, we let him go,” Stark said firmly.

Fury hesitated but then slowly nodded.

What Coulson could do, after the sedation washed out of his system, was wiggle his toes when Fury yelled at him. After Fury left, though, Banner looked sadly resigned. “There’s a big difference between being able to wiggle your toes and being able to be a cardiologist.”

*****

Whenever he moonlighted in the ICU, Rogers would sit by Coulson’s bedside as much as possible and talk to him. They had lightened his sedation as much as possible. Roger’s instructions were only to give him a small dose if he was in pain or fighting with the machines. Coulson tended to fight quite a bit, and the nurses had strapped his legs and wrists to the bed so that he did not dislodge the life support. Even though it was probably just a reflex, he found it reassuring.

“Hang in there, Phil.” He took his hand, and Coulson squeezed back. “We cleared your infection, and you’re back on the transplant list. You just have to hang on until something comes through.”

The ventilator alarmed as Coulson coughed or moaned against the breathing tube. Rogers wondered if he was trying to say something. He patted his hand and waited to see if he would settle down on his own, wanting to spare him another dose of sedative if possible. After a moment, he relaxed and seemed to drift off again.

It was pretty early, but Banner always came into the ICU early when he was attending. He stopped at Coulson’s room before he even dropped off his briefcase and coffee in his office. “I can’t believe he’s gotten this far.”

“Coulson’s a fighter,” he said.

Banner snorted. “More like Fury’s a fighter. If he could bring Coulson back to life with sheer force of will he would.”

“You’re acting like he’s dead. He’s not dead.”

Banner stared sadly at Coulson. “He may not be dead yet, but he’s not really alive either.”

*****

“Dr. Stark? This is Dr. Streiten with UNOS. You have a patient, Phillip Coulson?”

“Yes.”

“We have a heart for him.” 

Stark was not sure whether to laugh or cry.

“Dr. Stark, are you still there?”

“Yes. Yes, I’m here. Where’s it coming from?”

“Hospital on the Eastern Shore. It should be there in a couple hours.”

“Okay.” Normally he did not ask about the donor, but this time he found himself asking, “Who was it?”

“Nineteen-year-old boy. Died in a motorcycle accident.”

Stark nodded. “We’ll be waiting for it.”


End file.
